The assessment of organizational culture in cross‐cultural settings: Investigating the psychometric quality and cultural equivalence of three quantitative instruments

This study tested the psychometric quality and cultural equivalence of the German versions of three instruments for measuring organizational culture: the Denison Organizational Culture Survey (DOCS), the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP), and the Global leadership & organizational behavior effectiveness survey (GLOBE). Using an organizational sample from the banking industry, we analyzed the metric equivalence (by means of assessing the psychometric quality), the conceptual equivalence (by means of assessing the construct validity) as well as the linguistic and functional equivalence of the three instruments. The results indicate that the psychometric properties and the equivalence of the DOCS and the OCP can be summarized as satisfactory. In contrast, reliability indices of the GLOBE scales were far below recommended thresholds and results regarding its construct validity were unsatisfying. Conceptual equivalence could therefore not be assumed. Avenues for future research and implications for practitioners are discussed. In addition, the authors created and tested a German translation of the OCP scales and an adapted version of the German DOCS scales.     

Patient Perspectives on Intimate Partner Violence Discussion during Genetic Counseling Sessions

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major health concern in the United States (ACOG 2013). The World Health Organization (WHO) describes IPV as any physical, sexual, psychological harm by a current or former intimate partner (WHO 2016). Due to the psychosocial depth and nature of discussions within genetic counseling sessions, patients may disclose and/or discuss IPV as it relates to sexual well-being, reproductive and overall health. This study aims to assess the role for IPV screening, counseling and intervention in genetic counseling practice by investigating the incidence, experiences and attitudes about IPV among genetic counseling patients. Patients receiving genetic counseling at an urban metropolitan hospital were anonymously surveyed about experiences and perspectives on IPV as a topic of discussion during genetic counseling sessions. Among 60 eligible patients, 50 completed the survey (49 females, 1 male, of which, 5 identified as LGBT) ages 20 to 66. The incidence of IPV in this group was 16.0 % (n = 8). Majority of participants had never been asked about IPV by a healthcare provider (n = 32; 64.0%), would have felt comfortable answering questions about IPV by their healthcare provider (n = 34; 68.0%), and would have felt comfortable answering questions about IPV by their genetic counselor (n = 39; 78.0%). Perspectives from all participants, notably those with IPV history, provided insights to the role of genetic counselors in areas for IPV screening and counseling training.     

Piecing Together Ideas on Sociocultural Psychology and Methodological Approaches

In this commentary, I will piece together some transversal ideas throughout the articles that compose the thematic issue Self-identity on the move: methodological elaborations focusing on two main aspects: (i) the relation between the individual and the society and how self-identity is constructed in context; and (ii) data generalization in qualitative studies. I will base my commentary on the reflections brought forth by the articles on these two topics. My aim is to trace a line on which the authors, in their contributions to this issue, dialogue among each other with respect to the key elements of the individual, the social context, the (self)identity, and data generalization in qualitative research.     

自闭症儿童视觉动态信息的注意加工特点——来自多目标追踪任务的证据

为了考察中低功能自闭症儿童在动态条件下的多目标注意加工特点,研究采用多目标追踪实验范式,具体追踪任务采用多目标随机运动和碰撞反弹算法。实验设计为两因素混合设计,组间变量为年龄和性别匹配的中低功能自闭症和正常儿童组,组内变量为追踪目标数量（分别为1、2、3、4个目标）,因变量为被试在多目标追踪任务中的追踪正确率和追踪容量。结果发现：（1）中低功能自闭症儿童在目标数量为1到目标数量为4时的正确率均明显低于正常儿童,且标准差变异较大,中低功能自闭症儿童的多目标的持续追踪能力和稳定性存在一定的缺陷;（2）当目标数量为1时,正常组儿童与中低功能自闭症儿童的追踪容量差异不显著;目标为2、3、4时,两组追踪容量差异均显著。不同目标数量情况下中低功能自闭症儿童平均的注意容量为0.83~1.24个（平均容量约为1个）明显低于正常儿童的0.95~3.72个（最大容量接近4个）。中低功能自闭症儿童在多目标追踪上表现为单焦点注意加工的特点,存在一定程度的注意转移缺陷。     

The link between preschoolers' executive function and theory of mind and the role of epistemic states

The aim of this study was to assess the specific relation between 3- to 6-year-olds’ performance on a task measuring executive function (EF), the Dimensional Change Card Sort task (DCCS), and different developmental attainments in their theory of mind (ToM) by employing a battery of scaled ToM tasks that were comparable in task format and task demands. In addition, individual differences on the temperamental dimensions emotionality, activity, sociability, and shyness were assessed by parental rating. The main findings show that children’s (N = 195) performance on the DCCS related to their overall performance on the ToM scale but that this relation was specific to those ToM tasks that tap children’s understanding of epistemic states such as knowledge access, diverse beliefs, and false beliefs regarding content and location. The relation between children’s EF and overall ToM performance remained significant after controlling for age, sentence comprehension, child temperament, and parental education. Individual differences in child activity showed consistent negative relation to EF and ToM abilities. The findings point to a differential involvement of the various EF components in reasoning about different mental concepts.     

The consequences of mimicry for prosocials and proselfs: Effects of social value orientation on the mimicry–liking link

People often mimic each other's behaviors. As a consequence, they share each other's emotional and cognitive states, which facilitates liking. Mimicry, however, does not always affect liking. In two studies, we investigate whether the mimicry–liking link is influenced by people's social value orientations. More specifically, we examine whether prosocials and proselfs are differently affected when being mimicked or not. Prosocials and proselfs indicated their liking for the interaction partner after being or not being mimicked in a face‐to‐face interaction. The results of two studies showed that prosocials rated the interaction partner as less likeable when they were not mimicked than when they were mimicked. Proselfs, however, were not affected by mimicry. These results show that people's social motives play a role in whether or not the effects of mimicry on liking occur: Proselfs are less sensitive to the mimicry acts of others. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Culture in Asian American Community Psychology: Beyond the East�CWest Binary

In response to a call to better integrate culture in community psychology (O'Donnell in American Journal of Community Psychology 37:1-7 2006), we offer a cultural-community framework to facilitate a collaborative engagement between community psychologists and ethnic minority communities, focusing on Asian American communities as illustrations. Extending Hays' (Addressing cultural complexities in practice: Assessment, diagnosis, and therapy, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 2008) ADDRESSING framework for considering cultural influences on a counseling relationship, the proposed framework provides a broad but systematic guidepost for considering three major cultural-ecological influences on Asian American communities: Race and Ethnicity (R), Culture (C), and Immigration and Transnational Ties (I). We provide a sequence of steps that incorporate the ADDRESSING and the RCI frameworks to facilitate the collaborative community-based research or social action.     

The Role of Pre- and Postnatal Timing of Family Risk Factors on Child Behavior at 36 months

Children growing up in disharmonious families with anxious/depressed mothers are at risk for emotional and behavioral difficulties, however whether these associations reflect postnatal environment, prenatal exposure, or an overall liability is still unclear. This study used prospectively collected data from 24,259 participants of the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Mothers reported on anxiety/depression and family disharmony twice in pregnancy and twice post pregnancy, as well as on their child’s physical aggression and crying behavior at age 36 months. First, results from an autoregressive cross-lagged model showed a substantial stability in both maternal anxiety/depression and family disharmony from pregnancy to 18 months postnatal, but there was no indication that family disharmony led to maternal anxiety/depression, or the other way around. Second, structural equation models further suggests that the main risk derived from an overall liability, that is, a lasting effect of family risks that spanned the two time periods.     

Visual temporal processing in dyslexia and the magnocellular deficit theory: the need for speed?

A controversial question in reading research is whether dyslexia is associated with impairments in the magnocellular system and, if so, how these low-level visual impairments might affect reading acquisition. This study used a novel chromatic flicker perception task to specifically explore temporal aspects of magnocellular functioning in 40 children with dyslexia and 42 age-matched controls (aged 7-11). The relationship between magnocellular temporal resolution and higher-level aspects of visual temporal processing including inspection time, single and dual-target (attentional blink) RSVP performance, go/no-go reaction time, and rapid naming was also assessed. The Dyslexia group exhibited significant deficits in magnocellular temporal resolution compared with controls, but the two groups did not differ in parvocellular temporal resolution. Despite the significant group differences, associations between magnocellular temporal resolution and reading ability were relatively weak, and links between low-level temporal resolution and reading ability did not appear specific to the magnocellular system. Factor analyses revealed that a collective Perceptual Speed factor, involving both low-level and higher-level visual temporal processing measures, accounted for unique variance in reading ability independently of phonological processing, rapid naming, and general ability.     

The influence of attachment and temperament on venipuncture distress in 14-month-old infants: the Generation R Study

Objective

This study examined the effects of attachment and temperament on infant distress during venipuncture.

Method

The study was embedded in the Generation R Study, a prospective population-based study. Two different research procedures (i.e., blood sampling and the Ainsworth Strange Situation Procedure) yielded measures of venipuncture distress and attachment security and disorganization in 246 infants aged 14 months. Four temperament traits (distress to limitations, fear, recovery from distress, and sadness) were assessed using the maternally reported Infant Behavior Questionnaire - Revised, at the age of 6 months.

Results

There were no differences between mean levels of distress during venipuncture in infants classified as having insecure attachment, but there was a trend for disorganized attachment. The temperament traits were not related to distress. However, children with a disorganized attachment and higher temperamental fear had more venipuncture distress.

Conclusion

When different risk factors are present simultaneously, infant distress is heightened.